Dan Frederickson

Dan liked nothing better than a
barbecue, a back deck and sitting with family and friends around a fire,
strumming a guitar, according to his older brother Gus, of Oakville, Wash.

Music was a passion since Dan
hit his teens. He spent hours spinning 45s on a turntable in his upstairs
bedroom, his brother said. He didn't have a favorite. "He just liked them
all."

At 18, he taught himself to
play guitar, taking time each day to practice. "It was his peace of mind," Gus
Frederickson said. In later years, he often played Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple
Man."

Dan grew up in Elma, Wash.,
where he learned to fish and bow-hunt with his three brothers -- pursuits he
continued after he moved away from the area upon joining the Navy in 1983.

"We were like 'The Three
Amigos,' but there were four of us," his brother said. He also cultivated his
cooking skills, mastering marinated pork and chicken on the grill and homemade
pizza.

A chief petty officer in the
Navy, Dan planned to retire and return to Washington in six months, his
brother said. Since May 2000, he had been assigned to the Naval Submarine Base
New London, in Groton, Conn.

Dan, 37, and his wife,
Tracey Romanoff, 33, of Coventry,
attended the show at The Station Feb. 20 because Great White was a favorite
band, Gus said. For Dan, it was probably his seventh show.

Dan's career was marked by
generosity, as he often worked holidays and weekends for his staff, his
brother said.

"He was a person who was
younger than me, but I looked up to him."

The 20 to 25 staff members Dan
supervised within the quality assurance division in New London revered him as
well, said Chief Petty Officer Yvonne Stoner, who worked with him for three
years.

"He had a lot of respect for
people and in turn he got a lot of respect," Stoner said. "He always
remembered where he came from in applying his leadership."

While he was extremely skilled
as a technician inspecting submarines, his interests crept into the workplace.
He tantalized his coworkers with homemade meals; photographs of his four
children and his motorcycle adorned his desk.

"He missed his kids a lot,"
Stoner said of Dan's four children from a previous marriage -- Kenneth, 17;
14-year-old twins Amanda and Ryan; and Amber, 12 -- who remained in
Washington. "He was a real family man."